Super Metroid, I Still Want You…So Bad

The Super Nintendo has earned its right to be regarded as one of the greatest video game consoles in history. From shoot-em ups to platformers, and from strategy games to RPGs, there are a shitload of games for the SNES that are fun, challenging and memorable. One such game has been the subject of many reviewers before me, and a large chunk of those people have probably written or spoken about this game better than I ever could.

Having said that, I’m still gonna talk about this game, why I love it, and why I still play it to this day. So, embrace yourselves for the majesty that is…

This game is a masterpiece. It has been widely regarded as one of the best SNES games of all time. A large number of gamers out there will call Super Metroid the best SNES game of all time, and I’m sure that more than a few people out there will probably call it the best GAME of all time. I definitely call it a great SNES game…probably my third favourite.

The game has you once again playing the role of Samus Aran, Intergalactic Bounty Hunter (as it should be, unlike a recent 3DS title). Immediately after the events of Metroid II, which was the first Metroid game I’ve ever played, you turn over the last Metroid in existence – one that thinks you’re its mother – to a research colony for horrible experimentation, isolation and studying. You only return to the colony after you hear that it’s being attacked, and not because your guilty conscience gets to you. You then watch as Ridley, your archenemy, flies off to Planet Zebes with the last Metroid, but not before setting off the research colony’s self-destruct system.

I’m still unclear as to why a research colony would need a self-destruct system in the first place…

When you first set foot on planet Zebes, you immediately feel out of place. The atmosphere is dark and the music is dreary, making you truly feel alone on a hostile world. After you do some exploring, you are attacked by Space Pirates, who do not appreciate that you are here to fuck shit up. Suddenly, enemies of all kinds appear in the once dank (now slightly less dank) caverns. As weird and fantastic as they are, these cave dwellers are nothing compared to the bosses in this game.

I was blown away the first time I fought Kraid, because he is so freaking huge. Even though the fight does start out in a claustrophobia-inducing room, this titan of terror will soon burst through the ceiling, and then move around while throwing his mutant fingernails at you. As awesome as that fight is, my favourite boss fight is with Ridley, because he is a tough son of a bitch – he’s fast, has powerful attacks, and he will kick my ass if I’m careless enough to not take him seriously.

Which did happen to me. At least twice.

Like every good Metroid game in existence, you have to collect power-ups in order to defeat your enemies and access new areas of the planet that you couldn’t before. Old favourites are present, such as the Ice Beam and Screw Attack, and new ones are introduced that would reappear in sequels and remakes, like the Speed Booster and Gravity Suit. The only thing more awesome than running around in water like it’s no big deal is doing so at super speed. I just wish the Item Acquisition Fanfare wouldn’t play every damn time you get a missile or energy tank, because it gets really annoying, really quick.

There’s also a wall jump that you can perform in this game, which does takes some practice to utilize effectively. It becomes indispensable when you master it, and there’s at least one glitch you can perform with it. After you kill the Spore Spawn it will turn gray and become a platform to reach the exit above it. However, if you perform a wall jump off the dead Spore Spawn, you can make it shake violently! I just found this out a few months ago while playing the Wii U Virtual Console version of the game – I’m not sure if you can do this on the original, because I don’t own the original anymore.

The soundtrack still kicks ass to this day. Whether it’s Brinstar Overgrown with Vegetation, the Boss Confrontations or Norfair’s Ancient Ruins, there is rarely a dull moment to be had with this OST. My favourite has to be Brinstar Red Soil, because it helps create tension every time I traverse the lower depths of Brinstar. And the art style makes the area look super creepy.

My one “serious” complaint about Super Metroid is that the jumping feels stiff, but not in a game-breaking way. I do get somewhat annoyed when I keep falling off a moving platform several times, when I know I pressed the jump button, and this has led to many rage quits in my day – mostly me just deleting my save file outright. I have thrown many a controller against the ground, but I have not broken a single one. Yet.

To get back to the awesomeness that is Super Metroid, I really enjoyed using missiles to push Crocomire into a lava pit, and then getting to watch his skin melt! Then, his skeletal form, completely absent of muscle and ligaments, breaks down the spike wall that blocks the way forward, and then cartoonishly crumbles to the floor. Holy shit, I laughed my ass off the first time that happened.

Even though I did beat Draygon using the “honest” method (once), I really enjoy electrocuting the shit out of it a lot more. Like many others before and after me, I accomplished this by taking out the wall cannons first, so that they would spout electrical arcs. After I intentionally got covered in Draygon’s sticky wad, it will grab Samus and ram her repeatedly (seems a little out of sequence). While it’s doing that, I had to wait for the right moment to latch onto one of those electrical arcs with the Grappling Beam, and then watch Draygon’s health disintegrate before my very eyes. While I do lose a decent amount of health during this ordeal, It’s nowhere near the amount I lose while fighting Ridley.

If you somehow haven’t played this game yet, you owe it to yourself as a gamer to rectify that situation. Whether you have a NEW 3DS, a Wii U, a Super NES, or just a computer for some good ol’ emulation, there’s no way you can keep avoiding this amazing title.